Walking Travesty

They're Better Off Without You

I woke up with the same feeling like last time I slept next to Brad. Except this time, I knew that he was there and not Aaron. He was all tangled into me breathing softly into my neck. I wondered why he clung on to me like that. I guess he was used to sleeping next to girls, maybe that's why. My legs were in-between his, his arm was laying protectively over my stomach and he had pulled me closer to him when we fell asleep so his head was resting on my shoulder. His hair tickled my ear and I giggled a little bit as he started to move making it tickle even more. "No", he whispered starting to move around. "No what?", I asked turned around in his grasp. "No please", he kept on saying but it kept getting louder and louder. "NO", he then yelled and curled up in a little ball. Both of his hands were clinging on to my arm. "B-brad", I said shaking him a little. He started to shiver and I shook him harder. "Brad wake up", I said louder and then he sat up so fast that our heads collided and I fell backwards. Great. Now my head hurt. I heard his rapid breathing as he tried to calm himself down. "Where am I?", he asked panicking and I shook my head and sat up. "Shit Brad is your scull made out of steel?", I asked holding my hand on the spot he hit me. "Clara?", he asked now looking at me. "Yes. You slept at my place", I said and waved my hands around in the air making him look at my room. He breathed out a sigh of relief and when his breathing finally calmed down he took my hand. "Are you okay?", he asked and placed his other hand where he hit me. He was boiling hot. "Yes. Were you having a nightmare?", I asked softly giving his hand a little squeeze. "What time is it?", he changed the subject and I sighed but reached out for my phone. I had a couple of messages from Aaron. "11:30". Holy shit I had school. I stumbled out of bed trying to find some clothes to wear. "What are you doing?", he asked following me with his eyes. "we have school remember?". He laughed and stood up grabbing my arm turning me around. He was standing awfully close to me. "We're ditching remember?", he whispered taking my hand in his playing with my fingers. "B-but. I-I never ditch", I whispered. I felt so lost. "come on. I will keep calling you a nerd if you don't go with me". I sighed but nodded. I hated being called a nerd. "Take on something warm", he added and I furrowed my eyebrows. But it was warm outside? "Don't question it", he said as he read my mind and pulled on his shirt. I found a pair of black skinny jeans, a grey knitted sweater and some vans. "Is this warm enough?", I asked as I walked out of the bathroom to find a hairband. I was just about to pull my hair up in a ponytail but Brad grabbed my wrist firmly, stopping me. "Let it be down". I sighed but did as I was told. If this was a week ago I would have never listened to him. Something had changed though. I just couldn't put my finger on it. I followed him down the stairs where my grandma and grandpa were sitting. "why aren't you kids at school?", grandma asked and I was just about to lie and say we slept in and we were on our way. "We have the day off", Brad said and smiled. Grandpa nodded. Did they really believe him? Seriously? "We're just going out to get some fresh air", Brad added and I nodded a little next to him. "Well have a good day then", grandma said and I kissed them both on the cheek and followed behind Brad out of the door. "Where are we going then?", I asked walking faster trying to follow him. "ice-skating", he replied. No surprise there I guess. He wasn't cliché like Aaron at all. "I don't know how to do it", I admitted and he just laughed. "I will enjoy seeing you fail", he said coldly. What had made him so cold? Was it his nightmare? "but why are we walking there?", I asked once again. "Just stopping by James' to get my car". I replied with an okay and walked behind him silently. When we got to James' house we got directly into the car and he began driving. "Why are you being so cold?", I asked. I didn't care if he got angry. "I'm not". "Yes you are. All the short replies and stuff. I'm not going to spend my day with you when you're grumpy. I would rather go to school then", I mumbled and he looked at me. How could he look at me and drive the car without crashing it? "Sorry". I just nodded and continued to stare out of the window.

-

After Brad paid the guy who rented the ice-skates out to you, we sat down on a few chairs and took them on. It was cold so Brad lent me his jacket. It was nice of him and it was really warm and smelled like him. "you ready?", he asked stretching out his hand as I tied my skates. "Yea in a minute". Brad patiently waited and I took his hand when he was done. "What if I fall on my face?", I asked as he guided me towards the ice. "I'll catch you". I looked up at him and he was smirking. "Just hold my hand. You'll learn fast", he reassured me and I nodded nervously. We got out on the ice and I held on to him for my life. "Stop worrying. If you tell yourself that you're scared you'll automatically become scared", Brad said and my jar dropped. I didn't know that he was smart. "You know I do study". I looked down on the ice and blushed. And because it was cold my cheeks and nose were red. I looked like that reindeer with that red nose who could light up the night. It was actually a good idea for me to wear my hair down because my hair covered my ears so it wasn't as cold. "You ready to actually skate now", he asked and I had totally zoned out. I nodded not trusting my voice. I would say something stupid or stutter and he would laugh at me. "come on. Hold on to me". he placed his hand on my shoulder to support me as we started to move. Now I just felt like Bambi on the ice. "You're doing good. Just keep your balance". "How can you skate? Do you come here a lot?", I asked and looked up at him. "Sometimes. It's a nice place to cool down". I nodded agreeing with him since it was ice cold. "Try for yourself", he now said and let go of me. "No. no I'm so scared", I panicked as I started to skate further away from him. I tried doing it on my own and it was actually okay. "Brad I don't know how to stop!", I yelled as I bumped right into him making him fall down and me on top of him. "Well you stopped now didn't you?", he asked smirking. I blushed even more and rolled to the side since I couldn't really get up. "Brad? Is that you?", someone behind us said and Brad stood up. "Hey Hailey?", he said awkwardly as I was still laying on the ground unable to get up. "What are you doing with that girl?", she asked angrily and pointed at me on the ground. "She bumped into me". Well thanks? "Were you going to help her up?", she asked and he shook his head. Thanks again I guess. "well then let's skate. Ditch the nerd". He looked down at me with no emotion in his eyes. "cool". I knew he would be like that. It didn't surprise me at all. With me he could be more open but with them he had a reputation. Maybe he just had to keep it and ignore me. Maybe that would all be better? The guy who rented us the skates came out on the ice helping me up. "Thanks", I breathed out and smiled. "Are you going to skate more?", he asked and I shook my head. He helped me away from the ice and gave me a cup of hot chocolate. I looked at Hailey who was laughing at something Brad said. Brad just stared at her like she was some kind of alien. I'm guessing what he said wasn't even funny. I don't think she was very good at listening. I sighed and replied to Aaron saying I needed a day off from school to be with my grandparents. He texted me back 5 minutes later saying he missed me. It was cute. Then I felt something scolding hot run down from my chest and to my stomach. I looked up and Hailey was standing right in front of me now with an empty cup of hot chocolate. I think she actually burned me. It stung like hell. "Are you coming back to school Brad?", Hailey asked not even saying anything to me. "No". She nodded, kissed him hard and walked out. I looked down at my grey sweater and stood up lifting up in my shirt. My stomach was indeed burned a little. Or it just hurt and it was a bit red. Brad looked at my stomach still with no emotion. My phoned buzzed and unlocked it.